Steve Pleich wants to stabilize rental prices in Santa Cruz by governmental rent control policy. I wonder if as a young man he followed his own prescriptives and used a “reasonably priced rental as a gateway to the purchase of a family home.” I doubt it. Did he experience what it takes to own a home for many years; commonly an expensive yearly mortgage until after decades it is paid off, the massive constant upkeep to maintain a home, the property taxes, the headaches if the home had to be rented, and now possible rent control which will deprive residents of choice in what to do with this lifelong asset that many of us have labored over for decades? Many of us did not flip houses for a living, and are finally enjoying what we toiled over for years. Pleich would not be promoting rent control if he had experienced this.

— Beth Ahrens-Kley, Santa Cruz

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